UMBC Gender and Women's Studies Students Write Back

Representation in Photography

I love the internet, of course. It lets me access a whole wealth of content, my favorite being photographs. I’m very interested to see what everyone else is seeing through their perspective. I look at a lot of photo blogs, flickr accounts, so on, to get to see peoples photos. However, I am often disappointed and a bit confused. When I look at photographic work done by my generation, most of it looks the same. Most of what I see is white people,specifically ‘pretty,’ thin girls, doing whimsical things like running through a field or laughing while their hair blows in the wind or something. If you have a Tumblr I know you know what I’m talking about. Let me find an example…

I don’t want to discount anyones photographs. I’m not saying these photos are bad or should not be taken. This isn’t an issue of quality or validity of work. Its an issue of representation in youth photography. Where are the fat photographers/ photo subjects? The photographers of color? Trans photographers? I could even venture to ask where the financially lower class photographers are, as the people in these photos often appear to be well off (taken with high quality equipment, or color film which is pricey, but this is an assumption). I would love so much to see the perspectives of a broader range of people. I’m wondering, is it there and just hiding in an unfound corner of the internet, or are the only people my age using photography as an outlet white skinny people? Of course there are layers of nuances here relating to socioeconomic issues, the narrative visual media maintains, and so on. But I hope that a wider demographic of people will being to be represented in photography.

Share this:

Like this:

Related

7 Responses

I have no shame in admitting that I, myself have been obsessed with tumblr since I was 17. So for five years I have been able to see this change that you are referr8ng to. I have to say though, that tumblr would be the place to find these images that you’re looking for. Tumblr is known for being an escape, a “Narnia” of sorts. I see photos on my timeline that represent the broader perspectives and challenges of the norms. So yes, they are hiding in an unfound corner of the internet. Try exploring different tags and blogs; you’ll be amazed at what you will find.

I was going to post about tumblr too! of course you have to follow the right blogs and know what you’re looking for to find these things but they are out there. I’ve been on tumblr for a while and have made it to the point where I know I’ve followed the right blogs, of course there are still photos like the ones you talk about and they shouldn’t be discounted but I also regularly see photos of people with disabilities, photos of fat women and men, colored people, trans people, all of which are empowering and so uplifting to see. I think were still at a time where you have to search these things out and tumblr is still kind of the hidden corner of the internet in some aspects, but I’m also happy it is there.

I’ve noticed this same trend on tumblr myself. I dont have a tumblr but the majority of tumblrs that I have seen, all contain images of skinny white men and women. I think I have seen maybe one tumblr that was created by an African-American female photographer that took pictures of other African-Americans that come from various socio-economic backgrounds in the city where she lives that happens to be predominantly white. I agree with you that men and women of all shapes and sizes as well as races are not represented in tumblr photography. I would personally like to see more images as well as photographers on tumblr that are more broad and diverse. I cant say for sure that I know about the demographic of tumblr users but I do think that partially this has to do is beauty, and how our society and culture perceives white people and whiteness as the standard of beauty.

I think tumblr images are all about what’s marketable, trendy, or in style right now. Have you ever been out somewhere, saw someone, and subconsciously thought to yourself, “Oh, they look real tumblr.” without really thinking about it? I think we can all agree that “tumblr-famous” people, or just the popular images we see on there in general have this one certain “look”, but in my opinion that’s just because tumblr has it’s own kind of “feel” to it. I’m not sure how to explain it but from what I’ve noticed, certain kinds of photos get posted into certain social media platforms, and photos of “white skinny people” is mainly what gets posted onto tumblr. But me personally as a photographer, I can’t find a standard industry-sized white model in the DC/MD area to photograph for the life of me and I’ve been searching for months. Photography might be “trendy” right now, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t really talented people here in DC. I know a lot of them, and ironically we all shoot people that aren’t just the standard “tumblr” looking person, ranging from short, tall, fat, curvy, dark skin and light skin. If you want, I can direct you to a few of these people 🙂

Hello everyone! I was not really trying to speak specifically on Tumblr as an outlet but rather on photography in the hands of younger people as a whole. I know that people that look this way (white, thin, standardly pretty) are more marketable and so they appear in photographs more often. But! I’m specifically referencing to a genera of photography closer to a photo diary, not fashion photography or professional photography. Perhaps the photos I used were not a good example. I’m thinking of young people who took to a camera as a means of sharing their life through their perspective.There are indeed many professional photographers taking beautiful pictures of people who are more marginalized. Which is great. But that breadth of people is absent in most of the ‘photo diary’ style photographs I see. It leaves me wondering why these sort of ‘normative’ people really took to the camera as a means of day to day self expression/documentation when it seems others didn’t?

I agree with this post completely. I think what we mainly see as the “beautiful” and “flawless” photos are the white, thin, and standardly pretty people who are supposed to look as if they’re naturally in an outdoorsy place and looking natural about it, but what about people who can do the same exact thing without fitting into the same looks category?

I think tumblr and much of the internet is a direct reflection of the glaring inequality that is representation. I find myself wondering the same question: where is the representation for those outside of the norm? I personally think that those outside of mainstream view of representation are all around us but we just need to look. Sometimes looking at marginalized groups view may upset our own view or we have looked at mainstream views for a long time that we really have gotten used to that format consciousness. So in order to quell uncomfortable feeling we seek the mainstream images and the eurocentric views that were taught to us. Plus, being saturated with images of white, thin, and conventionally pretty may deter others from telling or showing their story because marginalize groups have been fed this nonsense about their stories not mattering. I don’t have all the answers but I find this question of why there is not more representation of marginalized groups important so that we can move forward. Now, we move forward and find that representation or give othered individuals a platform to show their perception on things.